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Description: | An incomplete fragment from a knapped, ground and polished axe head of probable later Neolithic date (2900-2100 BC). The axe is knapped from a mid grey white coloured volcanic tuff. This rock type is formed from compressed volcanic ash that is found in Britain and Ireland in a band that runs down the Irish Sea from the Lake District (the Langdale?s source Group VI), County Antrim (Ireland), through North Wales (Graig Lwyd Group VII), and into Cornwall and Devon (Groups XVI and IV respectively). Volcanic tuff is similar to flint in that it can be finely worked, ground and polished.
The fragment consists of the narrowed rear part of the axe and the butt. It is broadly sub-rectangular in plan and sub-oval (humped) in cross section. In plan the sides of the axe expand from the butt to a broken edge. The break is likely to be less than 1/3 of the way along the axe, and is well before the widest point. The sides of the axe have clear well defined side facets and which taper toward the butt of the axe. The butt of the axe is complete and rounded but is relatively thin / tapered in profile. The axe fragment measures 94.3mm length, 53.2mm width, and is 25.4mm thick. It weighs 151.62 grams.
The axe has been damaged in several areas. The area of most significant damage is approximately 1/3 along the length of the axe. Here the axe has been broken by a single transverse blow. Around the edges of this scar are a series of small dish shaped flakes. Some of these may be deliberate; however it is possible that the majority of this damage has been caused by movement in the plough soil. If this was the case there has been relatively little subsequent movement after the damage as the edges of the breaks are relatively sharp and fresh. A factor hinting toward modern damage is the lack of wear around the edges, the patina is also different to that present on the butt of the axe. Another area of small damage is around the butt, here as small irregular scalloped flake has been removed. This is again likely to be caused by movement within ploughsoil. The axe is a mid grey white colour with a smooth well polished surface. A series of longitudinal scratches are present which are probably the result of abrasion in the ploughsoil It is impossible to source axes such as these without a detailed petrological analysis of the rock. This would allow the original source of the rock to be established. | Format: | text/html | License: | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ | Publisher: | The Portable Antiquities Scheme | Rights holder: | The Portable Antiquities Scheme | Subjects: | archaeology | Temporal: | -2900
-2100 | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Creator: | Peter Reavill | Identifier: | http://www.finds.org.uk/database/artefac... | Language: | en-GB | Format: | text/html | Go to resource |
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